


you’re a mean one, mr. grinch

by iridescence (10softbot)



Series: the grinch who wrote christmas [2]
Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Christmas Music, Getting to Know Each Other, Humor, M/M, Neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28185222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10softbot/pseuds/iridescence
Summary: Hyunjae doesn’t really feel the Christmas spirit. His neighbor, who lives above him, however, seems to find it more than appropriate to play Christmas carols for as long as December lasts.
Relationships: Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae/Lee Juyeon
Series: the grinch who wrote christmas [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064672
Comments: 4
Kudos: 85





	you’re a mean one, mr. grinch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cherrybomb (daestopiaa)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/daestopiaa/gifts).



> welcome to day two of five days of christmas from yours truly, where i'll be posting small gifts for my friends because i am more than happy to have them in my life and they deserve good things after a rough year.  
>  **Do not translate or respost my work anywhere. I do not consent to reposting or translating of any of my works.**

Hyunjae doesn’t quite like Christmas.

He doesn’t necessarily see himself as the Grinch like Younghoon ever so lovingly dubs him as, but he can’t really deny the fact that he _would_ set things of fire every holiday season if he knew he wouldn’t go to jail because of it. He doesn’t hate Christmas per se, he just hates everything that comes with it. Call it trauma from years of working in retail, for all he cares.

The so-called most wonderful time of the year used to be the worst for younger him, with stores packed with people either too chirp or too rude and longer shifts that no amount of money could ever make him love the extra work. Hyunjae tries not to think of the time one of his managers made them dress as Santa elves for the entire month of December – only to have a long-forgotten high school crush walk into the store in search for a gift for their significant other and make direct eye contact with him.

He still remembers the desperate need he felt to hide behind the counter as his entire body burned in shame, and still remembers how stupidly happy said ex-crush seemed to be to see him there, dressed in an ugly, green, velvet catsuit.

So, yeah, Hyunjae doesn’t quite like Christmas.

Now, free from the shackles of retail as he works a boring office job, he finds the season just a little more tolerable. Actually, no, scratch that – Hyunjae enjoys Christmas eve and the feast that comes with it, enjoys getting presents from his family, and nothing more. The bright lights and unfounded joy ingrained in people still bothers him to death, and he finds himself on the brink of stabbing a coworker to death with a pen every single day leading up to Christmas.

When he gets home from a busy day, all he really wants to do is take a warm bath to decompress, maybe shed himself of his mortal body like a snake sheds its skin, but _of course_ nothing in his life ever goes as planned.

It has been roughly three minutes since he sat down on his bathtub when it starts – he honestly didn’t think things would go any differently today, but he thinks it doesn’t hurt to be hopeful. He blames it on his shitty apartment complex for having even shittier walls and poor acoustics; the first notes of Jingle Bells seem to slide down his walls and run through his pipes, hitting his eardrums in the most unpleasant way he could ever think of.

The song grows in volume inversely proportional with how quickly his patience diminishes; by the time the first minute of the song is over, Hyunjae is already on his feet and patting himself dry, stomping towards his room for a pair of fresh clothes. He makes a beeline for his kitchen then, and when Jingle Bells fades to an end, Hyunjae is sat on his kitchen floor drinking wine straight from the bottle.

He hasn’t interacted a single time with his upstairs neighbor since the other moved in earlier in the year, save from the time Hyunjae tripped on the stairs and freshly-moved-in-neighbor had to make real effort not to laugh right at his face. The man is pretty, Hyunjae will give him that, but his tried-to-be-nice-once card is about to be revoked if Hyunjae is forced to listen to Christmas songs for one more day.

It has gotten to a point Hyunjae already knows every single song added to his playlist, which _isn’t_ long by any means and only makes it the more annoying. It always goes like this: starting off with Jingle Bells, followed by Baby It’s Cold Outside, O Holy Night, Santa Tell Me, Last Christmas, and ending it off with an hour-long loop of All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Hyunjae is a patient man, he really is, but there is only so much of the _same six songs_ he can tolerate during every night of the month. He has hopes the man will grow tired of the songs as well, that this isn’t some sort of weird holiday tradition for him, but three nights later and the songs still bleed into his apartment; Hyunjae finds himself two seconds away from snapping.

This time, when he storms into his room, he puts on more presentable sweats and jumper than his usual six-year-old college shirt is and then storms out of his apartment, barely remembering to slip into his slides on his way out. The walk down the hallway and towards the stairs is a chilly one and he curses himself for not getting a coat, and also curses the building for having shitty _everything_ isolation.

He makes his way to the upper floor two steps at a time, and by the time he gets to the front door of the apartment directly above his, he can feel his cheeks and lips stinging from the cold.

The music is so much awfully louder from here he can barely hear his own thoughts. Hyunjae rings the doorbell, doubting the tenant will even be able to hear it, and waits about twenty seconds before he rings it again. Twenty more seconds pass and, when nothing happens, he raises his fist to bang on the door. He bangs about five times, as hard and loud as he can, and then he waits.

A few seconds later, he hears the volume finally going down, and then it’s only a moment until the door is creaking open.

Hyunjae thinks he severely misjudged his memory of his upstairs neighbor, because the man now standing before him looks _nothing_ like what his memory had been providing him with for months on end. Not in a bad way, no, not in a million years – the man looks so, so much better Hyunjae finds himself stunned into silence; suddenly, he feels like he's dressed like a Christmas elf all over again, desperate to hide behind a counter.

“Hi?” the man speaks, blinking at him almost like he is feigning innocence, and Hyunjae feels violently thrown back into reality.

“Yes, hi,” he clears his throat. “I’m your downstairs neighbor?”

“Oh, hi! I remember you!” a smile spreads on the man’s lips, his eyes slitting into the prettiest crescents, and Hyunjae groans at the unfortunate memory of his trip and almost fall. “Do you need help or something?

Hyunjae thinks he is going to lose his mind.

“Yes, actually,” he starts, and the man’s expression shifts to a more attentive one. Hyunjae really fucking hopes this is going to work. “You see, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the walls in this buildings are really thin, and it’s, like, _December fifteen_ and you’ve been blasting the same six songs every single night of this month, without fail, non-stop. And, the funny thing is, I am _so tired_ all the time and I can’t even relax after work because of your Christmas tunes.”

The man looks completely taken aback.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, _oh,”_ Hyunjae continues. “And I guess your next door neighbors don’t mind because every single soul in this building seems to really fucking _love_ Christmas. Except for _me._ Who lives directly under you. And gets to hear every lyric sung in your ever-looping playlist. So what I’m trying to say is, would it kill you to go through your weird holiday ritual just a little quieter? Just enough so I don’t have to hear Mariah Carey on loop for at least one hour every night?”

“I am so sorry,” the man says, and for all Hyunjae cares, at least he sounds genuine. “This is so embarrassing, I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Hyunjae forces a smile. “Thanks.”

“Again, I’m really sorry.”

Hyunjae quickly bows to him before turning on his heels and leaving, the tips of his fingers gone numb from the cold. When he gets back to his apartment and cozies himself under his duvet, he feels relief wash over him when he doesn’t hear any more songs playing from the apartment above. He falls asleep with ease, slipping into a dreamless night.

Hyunjae doesn’t expect his own doorbell to ring the following night. It is a little past nine when it chimes, and he almost drops an entire glass of wine on himself from being startled to death. He quickly grabs a kitchen towel, cleaning his hand where wine spilled over, before making his way to the front door to answer it.

Hyunjae _also_ didn’t expect to see his upstairs neighbor standing on the hallway, in front of his very door, dressed more proper than Hyunjae ever would on a Wednesday night after a long day of work. There is a paper bag in his hand that Hyunjae recognizes as the takeout bag from the restaurant just down the street, and it makes him frown.

“Hi,” this time his neighbor greets without a question, a sheepish smile on his lips. “I hope I’m not interrupting you?”

“Uh,” Hyunjae stammers on his words, not really sure of what to say. “Not really?”

The man’s smile brightens. “Oh, that’s a relief. I just wanted to apologize again because I feel really bad, and ask if maybe you’d like to have dinner? As a peace offering?” he raises the bag a little higher, like Hyunjae hadn’t seen it before. “If you haven’t eaten already, that is.”

Hyunjae looks back at his apartment, at the mess of papers scattered on his couch and the half-eaten toast he tried calling dinner on the counter, next to his almost empty glass of wine. He sighs and steps aside, opening the door enough for it to seem like an invitation.

“Yeah, sure, come in.”

The man’s smile only grows wider, and Hyunjae didn’t even think that was possible. The man quickly slips off his shoes, shyly getting into the apartment and waiting for Hyunjae to close the door behind them.

“I’m Juyeon, by the way. I didn’t get to introduce myself last night.”

Hyunjae feels his cheeks heat up a little. “Hyunjae,” he says simply, gesturing towards his small dining table. “You can put the food here, I’ll get some plates and stuff.”

He brings everything they’d need to the table, and as he replenishes his glass and pours Juyeon some wine, he observes the other looking around his apartment with attentive eyes. It is when he sits down and they start eating that Juyeon asks, with curiosity lacing his voice,

“Do you really not like Christmas?”

Hyunjae shakes his head. “I haven’t in a few years, actually.”

“Why?” Juyeon blurts out, clearly surprised. Maybe Hyunjae should accept Younghoon’s title of The Grinch for himself. “What is there not to like about—”

“The most wonderful time of the year?” Hyunjae supplies with sarcasm, the corners of his lips tugging up into a smirk. He can see a blush spreading bright on Juyeon's cheeks. “I think it’s a capitalist scam, and when you have to directly work with the holiday season, I assure you it’s not as fun. I’m sorry I kind of snapped at you last night, I just can’t stand to hear Christmas songs anymore.”

“Oh,” Juyeon's shoulders seem to relax a little. “I thought you’d gone through something traumatic on Christmas or something. Which, if you have, you totally don’t have to tell me!”

Hyunjae chuckles. “Have you ever dressed as a Christmas elf, Juyeon?”

Juyeon pouts a little. “I’m afraid I haven’t, no.”

“I see,” Hyunjae nods. “Once you’re forced to spend over twelve hours on your feet, wearing a hideously green, itchy catsuit, come and give me some feedback on how you feel about Christmas then.”

It makes Juyeon laugh, and Hyunjae finds he very much likes the way his neighbor’s voice sounds when he laughs. The night seems to happen in a second; Juyeon asks for more anecdotes, and Hyunjae doesn’t seem to mind sharing painfully embarrassing stories from the time he worked retail. When the conversation comes to a natural end and two bottles of wine have already been emptied, it is half past eleven and Juyeon seems to be almost falling asleep on his table.

“Hey, buddy, I think you should go home and sleep,” Hyunjae says with a light tap on Juyeon's elbow. “It’s pretty late, and you look tired.”

Juyeon hums, yawning and stretching his limbs like a cat. “Yeah, I think I should.”

Hyunjae walks him to the door, and before Juyeon starts making his way down the hallway, he turns on his heels to look at Hyunjae again, eyes bright like he’s just remembered something.

“Oh, right! I completely forgot!” Hyunjae cocks his head in lieu of a question. “Like, I know you don’t like Christmas and all, but I’m making some food on Christmas eve, and it’s gonna be just me this year—so, like, if you want, you can come over?”

It’s Hyunjae's turn to smile. “I think I’d like to do that, yeah.”

“Okay, cool!” Juyeon gives him a thumbs up, face splitting into another smile. “I’ll see you then!”

Juyeon dashes down the hall, too excited on his feet for someone who’d been nearly falling asleep not five minutes ago, and Hyunjae finds it a little too endearing. Before the wind starts biting cold at his bones, he softly closes the door behind him, the tips of his ears having gone completely red.

Hyunjae thinks that, maybe, just _maybe,_ he might start enjoying Christmas again.

**Author's Note:**

> this hyunjae was heavily inspired by myself because i seriously Do Not like the holiday season and i wish the entire world would burn down in flames. if you've reached this point, thank you for reading!  
> you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/changminize) and [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/changminize)


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